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Every municipal department head, in addition to lead staff, should take at minimum basic FEMA and NIMS disaster training courses.

“Make it a priority, because if local agencies don’t invest in it now they’re going to pay for it on game day,” says Roger Jolliff,emergency manager for the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Area Emergency Management Agency. Below are Jolliff’s tips and advice for municipal departments to train and better work to support emergency management in natural disaster planning, response and recovery.

Department heads and any staff that might take a role in response or recovery should enroll in FEMA training.

• Municipal department staff should examine their roles and self-define what courses they need.
• Jolliff recommends that all municipal department heads take ICS 300 and ICS 400 classes, IS 700 and IS 800 and any additional courses that apply to an agency’s specific support functions.

Plan and train for continuity of operations (COOP).

• Develop a COOP plan specific to your department to ensure essential operations continue during an emergency.
• Use this COOP plan template to get started. Jolliff also recommends enrolling in FEMA’s continuity courses.

Encourage local elected officials or their direct reports to enroll in FEMA training.

• Jolliff recommends they enroll in in FEMA’s Professional Development Series (PDS) and Advanced Professional Series (APS). “Elected officials or their direct reports should take these courses to give the elected officials the advice they need,” Jolliff says. “If they take these courses they will better support emergency management programs.”

Integrate NIMS into your department’s emergency operations plan (EOP).

• “Disaster plans should reflect NIMS as part of your culture and how you manage your events,” says Jolliff. Ensure department heads and other lead staff are trained in NIMS.
• See more tips from IBTS for how municipal departments can engage in disaster planning exercises with emergency management.

Participate in at least one training session per year with emergency management. 

• This provides a refresher for veteran staff members and ensures that new staff members are briefed on your locality’s disaster response and recovery plans before the start of each season. Seasonal training sessions that review and exercise disaster plans for perils most apt to occur in the upcoming season typically work best.

Participate in any city or countywide training initiatives.

• Develop action items from the course that can improve your department’s emergency response and recovery operations. For example, Jolliff held an initiative with the city of Tulsa to build continuity operations (COOP) plans. “As a result, many municipal departments, NGOs and private sector organizations are taking the COOP courses, reflecting on the workshops and writing their plans,” Jolliff says.

Develop a disaster operations plan specific to your department.

• “Make it a priority, if local agencies don’t invest in it now they’re going to pay for it on game day,” Jolliff says. Enroll in FEMA’s basic emergency planning course for guidance, and see more tips from IBTS on integrating a wide range of local agencies into disaster planning.